Riptide
by PurpleBlaze
Summary: Kel and Alanna get roped into accompanying a dangerous emissary mission for the crown. Meanwhile, Daine learns just how useful shape shifting into marine mammals can be. ND, KD, AG, no AUs
1. The assignment

_Thump… Thump… Thump_

She was focused. So focused.

_Thump.. Thump.. Thump_

Her heart matched the rhythm of Peachblossom's hooves.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

In fact, her heart sped up with the increasing beat of his gallop.

_Thump Thump Thump_

She narrowed her eyes. She steadied her lance. She tightened her thighs to encourage her mount to hurtle even faster. She braced her body for impact.

_ThumpThumpThump_

The clatter of metal upon metal ricocheted across the practice court as two mounted knights bodily collided. The placement of her lance didn't go over as well as Kel had planned. It roughly scraped across Darrwan's armor rather than pop him clean out of the saddle. Although it didn't go as cleanly as she would have preferred, it still landed him off of the saddle and onto the ground.

Kel Rounded Peachblossom into a circle and slowed him to a walk.

"Are you okay?" She asked Darrwan as he stood up from the dirt.

"I'm perfectly fine," he snarled, trying to wipe the dirt from his once shiny armor.

Kel shrugged, wrapped her reins around her wrist, and turned Peachblossom toward the rail where two of her friends were standing.

"Way to go Kel!" Nealan of Queenscove cheered. "I had no doubt that you would make a floor wipe out of him!" Neal glared pointedly at Darrwan. Earlier that day Darrwan had challenged Kel to a jousting match in front of his friends. Kel had politely turned him down multiple times. Only after several minutes of taunts and jeers about her ability to fight did Neal angrily accept for her. "Fine, she'll do it," he had snapped. "And won't you feel stupid when she wins? Which there is no doubt she will!"

Kel handed down her lance to her friend Owen of Jesslaw before swinging herself up and out of the saddle.

"I should have just ignored him," she said. "This was just a waste of time for all of us."

"A waste of time?!" Darrwan of Jefer's View demanded as he walked up behind her. Kel closed her eyes briefly in exasperation. She hadn't meant to insult him within his hearing. "You call a joust with ME a waste of time?!"

"Come on, Man," Neal said. "When you challenge the Keladry of Mindelan to a joust, you've got to know that it's a lost battle already."

"She was lucky," exclaimed Darrwan.

"She was 'lucky' for all three rounds of the match?" Owen asked.

"I demand a rematch." He spat on the ground at their feet.

Kel looked over Darrwan's shoulder at his friends who were laughing. No doubt at Darrwan's expense.

"I'm sorry, but I have somewhere to be," she told him. She didn't really have anywhere to be, but she didn't feel like a rematch. It was a hot, muggy summer afternoon, and a suit of armor is not the most comfortable outfit to wear in even the most agreeable of circumstances.

"He's probably about to tell all his little friends that you're too scared to take him on again," Neal commented as he watched Darrwan stomp away. Kel and Owen both laughed appreciatively. The three of them, with Peachblossom in tow, turned and began to walk toward the stables.

"What do you want to bet as soon your capital leave is over, you're going to be assigned border duty?" Owen asked Kel.

"I don't want to bet anything. We all know that that is what's going to happen," she replied. "What's his hurry?"

They watched as a palace messenger hurried up to them.

"Lady Knight," the messenger said formally, "King Jonathon would like to meet with you as soon as conveniently possible in the king's study."

"What does he want to meet with me about?" Kel asked, puzzled.

"I don't know; I'm just the messenger."

He stood there expectantly. Kel didn't have any change on her because she was wearing her armor, so Neal flipped the messenger a copper.

"What do you think this is about?" Kel asked Owen and Neal.

Neither of them had any idea. Neal said, "I bet you are about to be put in charge of another fort or something. It has to be something official. The king doesn't personally call in knights to give them border duty. He leaves that up to Sir Gary or Lord Padraig."

"Here Kel, I'll take care of Peachblossom for you," offered Owen. "You do need to get there 'as soon as conveniently possible'."

Kel thanked him and took him up on his offer.

"You should have taken Owen up on that bet!" Neal called after her as she hurried toward the palace.

Fifteen minutes later Kel found herself seated in the King's study. Across from her sat King Jonathon and Queen Thayet. To her left sat a man introduced to her as Captain Bloomroi. He was a Yamani man and looked to be in his mid fifties. Scars on his skin and missing teeth revealed him to have seen quite a few battles in his day. He smiled warmly at Kel and shook her hand when they were introduced.

After a few minutes of polite conversation, King Jonathon got to the point of her visit. He turned to her and told her, "Captain Bloomroi has come to Tortall to collect parcels and documents. We, the queen and I, would like you to be second in command of a small convoy of three ships. We feel that we can trust you with this task after your proven leadership skills. We also feel that since you know the Yamani culture best, you would reflect well on the integrity of the crown under the captain."

"What specifically will my duties entail, sir?"

The king leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. "There will be fifteen Tortallan men and fifteen Yamani men aboard the convoy. You will sail from Port Caynn to Port Legann. At Port Legann you will collect miscellaneous valuable items that are currently being prepared for shipping. You will escort them from Port Legann up to the Yamani Islands and receive a large sum of money and some vital documents that you will return to Corus with. Do you accept?"

Kel felt like she didn't have much of a choice. "Yes, sir."

The king and queen smiled. "I just have one question," she said.

"Just one?" asked the Queen.

"I gather that whatever we are being paid to guard and transport must be extremely valuable, right?" The king nodded. "Why do we have such a small number of men? The Emerald Ocean is teeming with pirates this time of year. If they hear of this we are going to have every pirate on the coast after us."

"Good question. But time is of the essence, and the ships we have are the fastest there are. Unfortunately we only have access to three in our harbor right now. We're hoping that the ships' speed will out maneuver pirate attacks. And if any do manage to get aboard, we have hand picked the best Tortallan soldiers to accompany you. Not to mention the fifteen Yamani warriors." King Jonathon nodded graciously to Captain Bloomroi. Captain Bloomroi inclined his head.

"I don't like it." Kel said. "It seems to me that we're just asking for trouble."

"We trust the people that we have chosen. We have you two fine leaders, Yamani warriors, and a handful of the King's Own." Jonathon paused. "Although she doesn't know it yet, the King's Champion will be joining you as well."

The queen rolled her legendarily lovely eyes. "I don't look forward to being the one to inform her of this little development."

* * *

Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, King's Champion, sat across from her monarchs in the very same chair that had been occupied by Kel only an hour before.

"You want me to do what?!" she asked incredulously.

The king sighed. "Alanna, we need our best fighters on this mission. I have a bad feeling that something is going to wrong. "Plus, we need you to act as a mage and a healer as well. I'm sorry, but this is not a request."

Alanna felt her ever present temper being goaded. "You're asking me, NO, demanding me to spend a month on a ship. A Ship! A lot of help I'll be when I spend the entire journey hurling over the edge of the railing."

Thayet said, "I understand how annoyed you must be Alanna, but we really do need you."

Alanna had already become resigned to the fact. "How long until I leave?"

Jonathon and Thayet warily exchanged glances. "You all leave tomorrow morning. So you have until then to pack and say good-bye to your family."

**Tell me what you think of the story so far; please review!**


	2. The beginning

The convoy of warriors was supposed to meet at 4:30 in the morning in one of the palace's outer courtyards; Kel made it a point to show up a 4:00. It was still as dark as night when Kel stepped onto the courtyard flagstones. She hung back at the edge of the quad to observe the early morning preparations.

Hostlers and palace stable hands efficiently led thirty two saddle horses out and lined them up. Stephan, the main hostler, was helping to hitch a pair of roans to the front of a sturdy wagon. As the minutes slipped closer to 4:30, Kel observed the men who were coming on the mission appear. Some of them looked wide-awake and had sweethearts mournfully hanging on their arms, while others barely looked awake and staggered tiredly in.

The plan was to ride to Port Caynn on horseback and arrive in the afternoon. The ships that would carry them to their next stop would be waiting in the harbor.

_These are all Tortallan men, _Kel thought. She wondered where her Yamani companions were. She checked the time- it was 4:20. She hoped that they would not be late. But at that moment all fifteen of them led by Captain Bloomroi marched into sight. Unlike the eleven Tortallans already assembled, there were no emotions such as tiredness or even cheer on their faces. Only the ever-present Yamani calm. Kel supposed that she had the same look on her face. They all professionally began to add their packs to the wagon and tighten and check girths.

"It's like watching a well oiled machine, isn't it?" A voice asked very close to Kel's ear.

She turned around and a wide smile appeared on her face.

"Dom!" She exclaimed. "I didn't know you were coming." She had the sudden urge to throw her arms around him in greeting, but she contained that urge. It wasn't her personality and it certainly wouldn't look professional in front of her men.

He smiled at her and said wryly, "Neither did I until two days ago. I don't think any one of us going had any real warning."

"You had more warning than I did," she informed him. "I just found out yesterday."

Dom asked Kel, "Where's your usual little band of friends to see you off. I'm surprised to find you alone."

"Does Neal seem like the kind of person willing to get up this early, even to see his friend, and his cousin, off?" Kel inquire. "No, he and my other friends that are here said good-bye last night so that they could get their beauty sleep this morning."

"By all means, let them sleep. This early morning splendor is only for non-pansies such as us. And my cousin certainly can use all the beauty sleep he can get."

---------------------

The first thing Alanna was aware of was the feel of large hands caressing her back. She shifted until she was completely on her stomach so that she could get the full effect.

"That feels nice," she murmured.

The warm hands moved from her lower back up to her shoulders.

"It's 4:10." Her husband told her. He began to knuckle rub the back of her neck.

Alanna didn't move. "I could care less," she mumbled incoherently into her pillow.

Alanna had never been a morning person. The days where she had been able to rise with the bell as a page were over. Over the years it became George's unofficial job (he being a light sleeper) to get her up and moving in the morning. Today was no exception.

"You have twenty minutes to get up, change, and get downstairs," he told her.

"I can do it in five."

He laughed at her. "I've seen you move in the morning. We're cutting it close as it is. Now don't make me do something you'll regret."

She mumbled something else into her pillow that George assumed was something along the lines of, "It is hours before daybreak. I'd have to have insanity in my family to even consider getting up at this ungodly hour."

"Okay, you asked for it lass."

Smirking at his wife, George pulled the pillow out from under her head and tossed the blankets off of her little body. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her up and out of bed. Pulling her close to him with his arm around her waist, he proceeded to waltz around the room.

Alanna shrieked at such a sudden awaking and shoved him away from her.

George grinned at her as she stalked to the wash basin. "You must admit love, you're certainly awake now. Don't you think?"

The Lioness turned to glare at her husband, only to find him smiling innocently at her from the bed. His smile was so endearing that Alanna had to give up her scowl and smile back at him.

-------------------

"We're missing two people," Kel told Dom. "Who are they?"

Dom surveyed the scene. "I know the Lioness is one, but I'm not sure about the other… Wait! I have a feeling as to who it might be."

Kel turned around. Striding into the courtyard was none other than Darrwan of Jefer's View.

"He looks ridiculous," Dom said, and Kel had to agree. Darrwan did not look like a man who was about to go for a ride and then go sailing. Instead, he looked like he was headed to a formal ball.

He was wearing elegant hose that went with his formal embroidered tunic. Instead of wearing sensible leather riding boots like most everybody else, Darrwan had opted to wear fancy golden embroidered shoes.

"Is he in the wrong place?" Kel wondered. But Darrwan marched up to Dom and loudly announced, "I'm here because I was specially chosen for this mission from the king himself. Any duties I should report to sir?"

With raised eyebrows and a barely concealed smile, Dom said, "You can ask Lady Knight Keladry here. She will be the one in charge of you."

Darrwan's gaze turned to Kel and he stared at her as if he was staring at dung on his shoe. "Fine, what should I do, _lady knight_?" His voice dripped with sarcasm.

With a Yamani calm expression, Kel told him, "You can put your bag in the wagon and then find a spare horse."

"That one is going to be quite amusing," Dom said. Kel and he watched as Darwann put three bags into the back of the wagon (three times what everybody else brought) and turned his nose up at the horse offered to him.

"Maybe amusing to you. But he will be annoying to me."

Dom Chuckled. Something caught his eye. "And here's Lady Alanna, we should be able to move out in three minutes. Right on time."

Kel turned and saw Alanna and George Cooper walk in. Alanna was much more sensibly dressed than Darrwan. She wore loose riding breeches, a sailor shirt, and calf-length leather riding boots. Alanna walked up to the one spare horse left and tied her sword to the saddle while George went and tossed her bag into the wagon.

Kel walked away from Dom to Captain Bloomroi, who was already mounted at the front of the line. Kel mounted easily on the dun colored mare assigned to her and greeted the somber Captain Bloomroi.

After everybody was mounted, Bloomroi gave a sharp wave of his hand. The small company all started forward on the beginning of what promised to be a very long, very tiring trip.

**This chapter didn't turn out as well as it sounded in my head, but it will do. What do you think?**


	3. The suspicion

"Well there she is boys," Dom announced. "And ladies." He added to include Alanna and Kel, who were standing nearby.

Kel shielded her eyes and stared at the multitude of ships bobbing in the harbor. With the sun rising in the distance, it was a very picturesque scene.

"Which ones are our ships?" she asked.

Captain Bloomroi pointed to the three ships that would be their home for the next month.

The group of thirty two people began to walk along the edge of the harbor. They had dropped their horses off and were carrying what little supplies they needed; for most everything had already been stocked onboard.

Captain Bloomroi walked beside Kel.

"For future purposes, how many mages do you have with your party?" He asked her dispassionately.

Kel responded, "We have two war mages, Lady Alanna and Sir Roderick." She pointed them out. "Sir Georon and Lady Alanna are healers as well."

Bloomroi nodded. "We have three war mages in our party. One of which is a healer in addition to war mage." He pointed to the people as he named them.

"So we have six gifted people with us in all?"

"That is correct," Bloomroi confirmed.

They reached their destination. There would be ten people per ship.

As the men divided up and began to board, Alanna pulled Kel aside. She waited until they were out of earshot and partially hidden behind salt-encrusted crates on dock before she said in an undertone, "I heard the last part of yours and Bloomroi's conversation."

"So?" Kel asked just as quietly. It was no secret.

"Bloomroi lied to you. He has five mages with him. And the ones that he pointed out to you were the least powerful of the five."

Kel's body grew cold. Her mind assaulted her with questions, some of which she directed at Alanna. "Why would he lie? Are you sure? How sure are you?"

"I don't know why he would lie," Alanna said slowly. "Unless he thinks he can't trust you. And yes, I'm sure. I don't think other gifted people can see it; it's well cloaked."

"Then why do you see it."

From under her shirt Alanna pulled out a glowing ember on a fine chain. "This little trinket helps me to see things better than most people."

Kel stared across the sea with a troubled look in her eye.

"What are you thinking, youngling?" Alanna demanded.

"I'm thinking about what you said earlier about him not trusting us. What if we are the one that can't trust him?"

Tortall's only two lady knights grimly stared at each other, neither having an answer.

* * *

Veralidaine Sarrasri, the world's only wildmage, glided over the sky in osprey form. Her bird body was tired after a long flight from City of the Gods.

She hit a patch of dry air and had to flap her wings; which meant exhausting more of her energy. She flapped hard until she came upon a warm thermal that she could soar better in, and then she returned to gliding upon air drafts.

Corus came into view and she mentally sighed in relief. She soared past caravans and travelers headed toward the city. In her human form she always appreciated the magnificent city, but as a bird she could appreciate it better. Birds of prey have excellent vision. It is how they can spot a tiny mouse nestled in grass from miles above the ground. The array of loud sounds, bright colors, and precise detail overwhelmed her bird senses; so Daine climbed in the air further away from the ground and stared down at the wondrous buildings and bustling streets.

The entire palace came into view. She could see every individual stone and cranny on the palace walls even from halfway across the city. She spotted the window to the rooms she and Numair shared above the pages wing. It was wide open because Numair was expecting her back today.

The closer to home she flew, the more excited she became. She descended, flared her wings, and landed on the window sill.

Through the window she could Numair engrossed in a large textbook. Kitten, who had been napping on the bed a moment before, woke up and chirped happily when she saw Daine. Numair looked up when he heard Kitten and then jumped to his feet.

"Magelet!"

Daine hopped to the floor and shape shifted back to human.

Naked, she put on a robe that was laid out on the bed. She felt Numair's arms wrap around her from behind. She giggled and turned to kiss him hello.

"How did everything go?" Numair asked later that night when they were both in bed.

"About as well as we expected."

Numair stretched out and turned to put his arm around her.

"I know where you want to be right now," he said.

"If your thinking in bed, then you're right," she informed him through rapidly closing eyelashes. Daine was exhausted from all the shape shifting she had done lately. Daine didn't even bother getting ready for bed. She just dived under the covers.

Numair chuckled. "Rest up magelet. Because I have big plans for your education in the next few weeks."

The last thing she saw before falling into a deep sleep was Numair staring fondly back at her.


	4. The betrayal

**Author's Note (Please read): As probably most of you know, I had a sub plot going with Daine as the main character. Unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would because it required a lot of explanation and many extra laborious chapters. Although it would have matched up very coolly (in my opinion) with the main plot near the end of the story, its participation could be easily replaced. So after agonizing over it, I decided to take the plunge and completely delete it. For you Daine fans out there, she will still get a chance to play a nice heroic role in the end, but not be a main 'Riptide' character. (I did end up leaving in her introduction at the end of chapter three though.)**

**Author's Note #2: I am completely making up the amount of time it takes to get places in Tortall by sea. If anybody knows for sure, feel free to let me know. (And also, please let me know if I get anything else wrong. I'd love you forever.)**

**Now, after much delay, on with the story!**

The three Tortallan envoy vessels were making very good time. Not good enough time according to Alanna. She was at the helm of _Lady Providence_ (one of the vessels) directing very unpleasant thoughts at her king.

Alanna sat cross legged on top of a deck crate. Her arms were crossed upon the railing while her green tinged face pressed into them.

_Stupid boats. I hate them all! _She thought rather childishly. _I shouldn't even be here. Stupid Jonathan. I hope he gets a splinter; a really big one._ Even though she would never admit it, Alanna did agree with Jon's logic for sending her along. In fact, if he had been given more warning, he would never have sent his champion at all. But time and space was limited.

Miserably, Alanna lifted her head and stared out into the calm gray waters. Her stomach rolled as waves gently lapped against the hull. Goddess, she felt as if she were pregnant with the twins again! Only this time a bowl of George's raspberry and peanut pudding wouldn't soothe her ailing stomach. She had gained temporary respite when they had landed in Port Legann two days earlier. All to soon they had gathered the cargo and hit the open sea again.

_Eight days down,_ She mentally reassured herself. Then she ruined it by thinking,_ only nineteen freaking days to go! _

The other nine people on board _Lady Providence_ felt sorry for her. They had given up on distracting her from her sea sickness after the first three days though. She was not in a sociable mood, and she didn't plan to be in one until her feet were firmly planted on dry Tortallan soil. Only then could she safely eat a meal without losing it soon after.

* * *

"Poor lady Alanna," Kel commented to Dom as the two of them played cards on the deck of _Persistence_. She glance at the vessel sailing next to them and watched the lioness heave bile over _Lady Providence's _railing.

"She's not the only one." Dom jerked his head in the direction of Darrwan of Jefer's View. Darrwan was hunched over _Persistence's_ railing in a similar position.

"Now him I don't feel sorry for," Kel said as she studied her cards. "Every minute he spends throwing up is a minute less that I have to deal with him."

Dom said, "It's not like you have much else to do, we haven't run into much trouble."

Luckily they had run into only a few pirate ships lurking about the Emerald Ocean. Most of those had easily been outrun thanks to the their vessels' sleek designs. _Lady Providence, Persistence,_ and _Molly's Folly_ had all been designed for speed and maneuverability over anything else. They had run into a fast pirate ship once, but luckily the gifted people onboard had been poorly trained, and the war mages in the Tortallan/Yamani envoy had easily taken care of them.

"It makes me suspicious that we haven't had any trouble since we picked up the stuff from Port Legann," Kel admitted. "We're a beacon out here to any half decent scrying mage."

Dom shrugged. "Maybe the fog has something to do with it. Besides," he grinned his handsome grin at her. "It means I get to spend more time with you."

Kel ducked her head and told him shyly, "I enjoy spending time with you too."

Dom layed his hand down and leaned slightly forward. He looked nervous, with was an uncommon expression for him. "Kel, when we get back to Tortall, would you like to go out to eat sometime. Alone. Or go dancing."

Kel's heartbeat sped up. Was he interested in her as more than a friend? She hoped so.

She opened her mouth to say yes when her eyes drifted behind Dom.

"Oh no," she said.

Dom blushed. "Okay. I just thought that it w-."

Kel grabbed Dom's arm, interuppting him.

"No, I'd love to do something with you. But is that a ship headed right toward us?"

Dom turned around and whipped a spyglass up to his eye.

"As a matter of fact, it is. It's headed right toward us- about five minutes away I would think."

"Why weren't we warned twenty minutes ago then?" Kel demanded. She glared up at the Crow's nest. A yamani sentry stared calmly out to sea. She turned and looked up at _Lady Providence's_ crow's nest. A yamani stood calmly there as well. She turned towards the last ship.

Kel had specifically scheduled there to be both a Tortallan lookout and a Yamani lookout at all times, but nobody was on _Molly's Folly's_ sentry point. Or was there?

"Can I see that," Kel asked before staring up with Dom's spyglass.

A limp hand hanging off the nest's edge was all Kel could see of the Tortallan sentry. Kel had a very bad feeling gnawing at her stomach. She ran as dignifiedly as she could manage up to the Stern.

"Change course," she demanded of the first mate, who was manning the steering wheel. The Yamani man acted as if he hadn't heard her.

"I just gave you an order," Kel said, putting her hand out to hold the wheel.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Keladry of Mindelan." Captain Bloomroi stepped into view. No emotion whatsoever was displayed on his face.

A naked long sword gleamed in his hand.

**Yes, I do realize I just left you at a cliffhanger. MWAHAHAHA!**


	5. The battle

Kel stared at the sword tip that was pointing straight at her chest.

"Captain," she started, hoping that the situation could still be negotiated diplomatically. Bloomroi cut her off before she even began speaking.

"Don't waste your breath girly. It's no use now."

Dom was standing a couple yards away. He slowly put his hands up in the air to show that he was unarmed.

"Just what's this all about Captain?"

Captain Bloomroi chuckled, and even though he was a Yamani it contained genuine mirth.

"Don't think that I can be that easily distracted." Bloomroi reached into his tunic pocket and pulled out a silver whistle. Kel stood on the spot in helpless fury. The back of her mind screamed at her, _DO Something! He's going to signal for an attack._

Unable to think of a better plan, Kel rushed at Bloomroi. Her foot kicked out sideways to get the long sword off course. She used the momentum of the kick to lunge into a right hook on the side of Bloomroi's face just as he began to whistle the first note on his whistle.

Men from all three ships looked up to see their two leaders in a battle. At that cue, Yamanis leapt to attack, and Tortallans staggered to defend. It was Kel's pre attack that saved them all from instant death. Because the moment they heard the signal, the Yamanis had their weapons ready to kill the nearest Tortall knight.

A Yamani soldier with a greasy black goatee, appropriately nicknamed Grease, rushed at Kel. She had to lay off attacking Bloomroi in order to defend herself from Grease. A tortallan knight named Kendrien rushed up the steps of the stern to help Dom and Kel. As he reached the top, a spark of green light shot toward him. The spark exploded when it his body. Kendrien screamed from pain and faltered to his knees. A second green spark came again, but a small red magical disc (Sir Roderick's gift color) appeared and absorbed it. Loud explosions occurred all over while _Molly's Folly_ began to tip precariously.

The mages were getting into it now.

* * *

Alanna heard the men suddenly get restless. The envoy vessel had been quiet except for the sound of wind flying against the sails and the occasional rumble of bored voices. All the sudden, she heard men leap up and shout. Her eyes flew open and her head swiveled to locate the source of the commotion. The Yamani men were attacking! 

In fact, two of them were headed her way.

Alanna leapt to her feet. Her head protested the sudden jerky movement, but she ignored the nausea. She grabbed the crate she had been sitting on a moment before by holding on to the wooden slates. Alanna set the crate down in front of her and did an impressive summersault over it. When she landed on her back she brought the crate back up over head before rolling into a squat and shoving the crate forward. Both of the swords aimed at her got stuck in between the crate slats and Alanna used the element of surprise to push forward with all her strength. Both men faltered back. She swung around with the crate, which still held their imbedded weapons, to effectively disarm them. She pulled her own sword from her sheath in less than a second. A round house kick knocked one man to the ground while she jabbed her sword into the jugular of the second. He was dead instantly. The guy still on the ground joined his buddy in the dark realm a moment later when she stabbed down into his heart.

_I've still got it,_ Alanna thought grimly. She stared disgustedly down at her two dead foes before sneering, "There's a reason I'm King's Champion. It's not just a pretty title."

She looked up and scanned the scene to see where she would be most helpful. Five Yamani mages were blasting away, while Roderick and Georon desperately put up shields. There was one mage on board _Lady Providence_ with Alanna. Purple fire began to flame in the palm of Alanna's hand as she headed that way.

Meanwhile, Kel brought up a stolen sword to parry another enemy's thrust. What she wanted more than anything was to have her glaive in her hand, but it was down in her quarters.

Kel and Dom stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the cargo hold entrance. They would guard the important Crown cargo with their lives. A lull in the fighting allowed Kel to look around and judge the battle scene. There were nine dead Tortallans and seven dead Yamanis. Lady Alanna and Sir Roderick had killed three of the Yamani war mages. Both Tortallan mages had somehow ended up battling the final two mages on the decks of _Molly's Folly. _Those were the only four people alive there. Sir Georon was at the stern of _Persistence_ tending to the wounded.

The unmarked enemy ship Kel and Dom had spotted earlier had pulled up into the group a few minutes earlier. It (_Dark Ruby)_, _Lady Providence_, and _Persistence _were all banging against each other in the struggle. _Molly's Folly _was drifting along many yards away from the group.

Suddenly an explosion like no other rocked every boat within a twenty mile radius. Kel fell down hard on the deck. She felt something snap in her wrist. Her head whirled around to see the last of the destroyed _Molly's Folly _disappearing forever into the cold water.

**Don't worry, Alanna's not dead. Everybody just thinks she is, and they'll think that for quite awhile. Will she die? We'll see…**

**And just a side note: how fast I update is very much influenced on the number of reviews I get.**


	6. The wreckage

**It came to my attention through a review that some of you might not know that I replaced the contents of chapter 4 with an entirely new part of the story. I made the revamps clear in chapter 4, but some people may have missed that when they shot straight over to 5. Does that make sense?**

**Also, a big thank you to everybody who reviewed; I really appreciate each of them individually. And a extra special thanks to ****Pie of Doomeh**** for taking the time to review every single chapter every time one comes out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pierce's characters**

She felt her life force draining…

She sensed her stomach sinking…

She felt the boat sinking…

She felt herself falling…

She was aware of something falling on her…

She sensed a large amount pain.

She felt her senses dimming…

She was aware of colors blurring together, then turning dark…

She… felt… nothing…

The first thing Alanna became aware of was a ragged breathing. It seemed to echo back at her, as if from a great distance. With a mighty effort, her heavy eyelids cracked open. She couldn't feel her body at all. Everything she saw was a hazy mix of blacks, whites, and grays. It took Alanna a moment to realize that the ragged breathes belonged to her.

_Breathing is good. It means I'm still alive._

She took a few deep, ragged breaths, as if to prove it to herself.

_You're a healer, _some back part of her brain told her sternly_. Now concentrate!_

It took almost all of Alanna's energy to focus on her body and on her surroundings. She was in the middle of a large pile of wood and boards. She focused her eyes to look down at her body and choked back a gasp of horror.

There was a beam sticking through the middle of her body!

Alanna had used most of her gift during the mage fight on _Molly's Folly._ All she had left was her life force. She decided that it was worth it to use a small amount of life force to check out rest of her body. Gently, Alanna pulled out a tiny tendril of magic from the constant source within her. She inched the tendril to her torso. The beam was sticking through the left side of her small intestine. It could have been worse, but if she didn't get help quickly, she would die a very long, very painful death. She sent the tendril of gift lower, down into her legs. Her left leg had three breaks in it and her right leg had a sprained knee. Many cuts and bruises adorned her entire body.

Genuinely, Alanna thought, _I really am lucky to be alive at all. This could have been way worse. But then again, when my body starts to feel I'll wish I was dead._

Alanna didn't want to do anything but go to sleep, but she knew she had to act fast before she literally died of shock. First she had to get warm. Alanna looked around from her spot for a blanket; she spotted a torn piece of a mast's sail instead. With a little magic, but careful not to overuse it, she Telekinetically called it to her.

She was starting to feel her body, and it hurt a lot. Knowing it would only get worse, Alanna worked quicker. She picked two straight boards out of the pile and ripped part of the sail into long shreds. Beads of sweat rolled down Alanna's face as she aligned the boards on either side of her left leg, and then wrapped the fabric pieces around them. She groaned in excruciating pain as she pulled the shreds tight.

Alanna pulled the sail over her body and concentrated on the area where an 11 inch wood fragment was embedded. She wrapped a small cushion of purple magic around the worst area before promptly passing out.

* * *

Alanna didn't know how long she had been out when she regained consciousness.

She was happy to notice that some of her gift had replenished in the time she was out. Agonized screams reverbrated near her. She realized that the agonized screaming was what had woken her up. After pulling the sail blanket firmly around her shoulders, she scooted backward on her butt by shoving off with her hands.

"Roderick!?" Alanna gasped.

Sir Roderick of Salado was lying flat on his back. Half of his body was trapped under rubble and he glowed red.

When he laid eyes on Alanna he said chokingly, "When the ship exploded and we started to go under, I put a force field around part of it. I used all the magic left in me to do it too. That's why we're still alive way down here!" His face twisted in agony. "I'm no healer."

Alanna scooted forward, ignoring the excruciating pain pulsating from her legs, and began to remove the rubble off of Roderick. She felt sick at what she found.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but something has cut off more than ¾ of your left arm. It's barely hanging on by the skin. There would be no way to save it in even the best of circumstances. If you want to live I'm going to have to amputate it."

So for the next ten minutes Alanna sawed off his arm with her knife boot, and fused the skin flaps together with her gift. All the while Roderick cried with pain and Alanna kept crying the whole time, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

**Two hours later…**

Alanna and Roderick sat stonily against the forcefield that was allowing them to live thousands upon thousands of feet under the ocean. What they had soon realized that it took both of their continued gifts to keep the force field going. The situation was grim to say the least.

"Soooo," said Roderick.

"We can't use our gifts for anything but keeping the force field up," Alanna sighed for the twelfth time. "We can't call for help. They don't know we're here."

"We're dead to the world above us," Roderick agreed. "And I know for a fact that when they scry for us, all that they will see is murky ocean water. They'll assume our dead bodies are drifting along down here."

"I'm going to go explore," Alanna said abruptly. "There might be food or freshwater stored somewhere."

"Just keep your hand on the wall at all times to feed magic into it," warned Roderick

Even though they both held on to a small bit of hope for each other's sake, they both knew that they would die down there.

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**


	7. The news

**I'm sooo sorry for the delay! This chapter doesn't have any action. It's just angsty/prosey… **

Squire Alan trotted down the halls of the palace's academic wing toward his grandfather's study. People who recognized him would greet him loudly, "Hey Junior!"

The moment Alan became a full fledged squire, some clever individual had nicknamed him "Squire Alan the second", or "junior" for short. Alan was happy with this new nickname because it was a step up from his page nickname of "little lion cub". Constant teasing was one of the prices Alan had to pay for being the son of the Lioness.

He reached the heavy oak door of Sir Myles' study and knocked. Alan didn't like to barge right into secret meetings the way Aly used to do all the time.

Alan cautiously opened the door at his granda's call and found Myles, Harailt of Aili, and Lindhall Reed all standing solemnly in the in the spacious study. The Dean and professor wore similar grave expressions, while the knight's face was creased up in an unreadable one.

"Alan," the knight said to his grandson. "Why are you here?"

Alan swallowed deeply in a feeble attempt to moisten his dry throat. "The squire hall is buzzing with rumors about the envoy mission Ma is on. The stories are all different though and I can't find Da." Alan stopped and pressed his lips together firmly.

Myles began to pull at his gray beard, a habit he always reverted to when he was extremely stressed. Lindhall came forward and touched Myles sympathetically on the shoulder.

"Harailt and I shall take our leave now. We can pick up on our discussion later." Lindhall hesitated for a moment before he pulled his hand off Myles' shoulder and quietly walked toward the exit with a kind nod at Alan. Harailt went up to Myles, and to Alan's surprise, gave his friend a hug. Alan became shocked again to see tears glinting in the composed man's eyes. Harailt muttered something to Myles that was so low pitched Alan couldn't hear even when he strained to.

When Harailt finished speaking, Myles wore a pained look. It scared Alan somewhat because he had never seen his granda look so anguished in his entire life.

Harailt offered Alan his hand and Alan numbly shook it.

"Be strong Squire Alan." The gentle words washed over Alan before Hairalt followed Lindhall's exit path out the door and closed it behind him with a soft click.

Alan found himself alone with his granda.

"Alan, sit down with me." Myles led Alan to a comfortable couch that sat in the back of the study. They sat. Alan concentrated hard at the thick, patterned rug at his feet. He closed his eyes though when Myles began to speak. If his mother was alright, Granda would have reassured him by now. That's how it always worked.

He forced himself to focus on the words Myles spoke. He spoke calmly and methodically, as if he had rehearsed it in his head.

"The envoy picked up the documents and artifacts from Port Legann three days ago. Yesterday afternoon the Yamanis turned on us and attacked. They got away with the loot, but not before destroying two of the three ships.

A tiny fire of hope began to flicker in Alan's heart. If there was a boat left then there must be Tortallan survivors. Myles' next words drenched that small flame.

"Your Ma fought bravely. They say everybody would have died if she hadn't taken care of the Yamani mages. She was on one of the ships that exploded and sank." Myles' voice cracked at the last word and he stopped talking. Alan opened his eyes and looked up to see Myles struggle to compose himself. He coughed twice; followed by one deep long breath and he found his voice again. "Lindhall, Harailt, Numair, and the king have all scried for her, but they all get the same thing: nothing but ocean water." Myles gathered up Alan in a tight embrace and choked out, "I'm so sorry Alan."

Alan felt bloodless, as if someone had stuck a straw in his vein and sucked out all of his internal fluids. Now his veins were dried up, shrivled, and useless.

What now? Was he supposed to go back to life as normal? What was normal anymore anyway?

"What happens now?" he asked quietly.

Myles sighed and loosened Alan from his death grip. He looked his age for once. The weight of the world sat like lead on Myles' chest.

"We stick together as a family. We appreciate the people we still have in our lives. Even though your Ma isn't here anymore- you still have lots of people who love you unconditionally. You have me, your Da, your grandmother, your brother, sister, brother-in-law, and a handful of godparents here to support you. Do you understand?"

Alan could only nod, his mounting grief was so great. The very couch he sat on was where his Ma used to take naps during the day when her healing gift drained her. She would never do that again.

Alan was guided up and out the door by Myles. He didn't even understand words anymore. The halls and the paintings were exactly the same, yet his ma would never walk down them again or admire the art. There were so many things his ma would never do again.

An unreasonable flash of anger overcame him. How dare she! How selfish of Alanna to live such a dangerous lifestyle when she had a family, and a son, that needed her. Why couldn't she just be like other noble women? Then she would be safely at home and not disintegrating at the bottom of the ocean.

With effort, Alan forced his mind to shut up. The Cooper family members were no strangers to grief. Alan knew that the best thing to do was go through the motions for the first few days. Just silently stand waiting for seconds and minutes to pass by; praying time would heal the wounds.

Before he knew it they were inside one of the King's private sitting rooms. It was a comfortable room, designed for coziness over intimidation. The King's family and closest friends spent many evenings in here. Even though there were other people in the room, Alan's eye fell upon the two tallest figures standing side by side: one wooden, one broken. Both kings, but devastated.

George saw his youngest son enter the room and beckoned to him with open arms. Alan approached George slowly at first, but ran the last few steps to fall into his Da's hug. Alan didn't know where his tears came from. Hadn't he just felt moisture-less a few minutes ago? He wept unashamedly into his Da's sensible woolen shirt.

**I really, really promise to update quicker now! **


	8. The idea

_**This has been written in my notebook for quite awhile. I just needed time to sit down and type it up.**_

"I can't believe this," Kel groaned. She banged her head backward for emphasis.

"I said 'don't move'," Georon reprimanded, looking at her with reproach.

"Sorry," Kel muttered. The healer, looking at Kel's injured arm, reached behind him for a bottle of solvent. He squirted the disinfectant solution liberally on Kel's gaping wound. Kel reflexively jerked her arm away when Georon poured the stinging solvent over her wound. A tanned hand came around to hold Kel's arm still.

"I think the man specifically told you not to move," Dom scolded gently.

Georon's magical gift was depleted, so he relied on non-magical practices to treat the injured Tortallans.

Kel sighed and re-held out her arm, determined to not move another inch. Her arm had different ideas though when the healer began to re-squirt the burning substance into the gaping wound. He nerves tried to jerk away from the painful sensation, but Dom's strong grip kept it in place.

A silence that had struck the five Tortallan survivor's aboard _Persistance_ since their crushing defeat, and Kel had given up trying to chat hours ago. How could she raise up the spirits of the others when her own were so sunk?

Kel sighed again. Dom and Georon must have assumed it was one of pain because Dom wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly against him. Georon quickly reassured her that the stinging would cease as soon as any infection burned away. Sure enough, the pain lessened and Georon pulled out a large needle in order to stitch up Kel's arm.

"I still can't believe this," Kel repeated from earlier.

"It may seem like a lot of stitches, but I will be fast," promised Georon, misunderstanding her meaning. Dom, on the other hand, knew Kel well enough to know the true implication behind her lamentation. He pulled her tighter against him and murmured, "I know the feeling." He paused, but Kel did not say anything so he continued, "There is nothing different that could have been done, even the king admits that. You're not in trouble."

"Do you think that is what matters to me," Kel whispered icily. Her eyes were over bright and wet; everyone tactfully ignored it.

With a final pull and a snap, Georon was done.

Neither Dom nor Kel made an effort to pull away from each other though. Kel didn't know about Dom, but she was reliving the turn of events in her mind. The Yamani attack, the sinking _Molly's Folly _and the outright theft of _Lady Providence, _the raiders' making a hole through the planks where the precious cargo was stored and stealing away with them, and then finally escaping… It was too much to take in.

The five beaten Tortallans on board were set to reach Tortallan shore in less than a day's time. Another memory attacked Kel. She abruptly firmed her spine and pulled stiffly away from Dom.

"I can't believe you let them escape when you had the chance to stop them!"

Dom couldn't believe he was hearing this. "It was a bunch of artifacts and documents or your life!" he exclaimed. "Which one did you think I would choose?"

_Dom stands shakily to his feet after the repercussions of the blast. He immediately spies a Yamani man stealing over the edge with the Crown's cargo to his left. On his right he sees a Yamani warrior about sink a fatal arrow into Keladry's heart. He does not have time to save both. Without thinking, he lunges to the right…_

Dom took a deep breath to calm his shot nerves. He walked forward and pulled Kel safely to the privacy of a somewhat secluded point on deck.

"I'm going to find away to get them back. I will not let this go," Kel promised with conviction as Dom stopped their tracks once out of sight.

"I know you will," Dom agreed. "And I'll be with you every step of the journey. I promise. Now, I have something to tell you." He had an uncharacteristically starched tone.

"I had an epiphany Kel," Dom gruffly told her. To Kel's surprise, Dom's handsome face had a pink tinge of embarrassment along his cheeks.

"For a moment back there I thought you were a goner. And I realized that," he stopped, coughed, then plunged forward. "You mean a very great deal to me, Lady Knight. When this is all over…after we get the stuff safely delivered to the crown and everything. We should be exclusive, not the casual dates I suggested earlier. A formal 'going steady' thing. Because you and I, I believe, can be something great. Together. As a couple…" Dom realized he was babbling and shut his mouth.

Kel stood in stunned silence. She had wanted this for so long: a chance to see if her crush on Dom could be developed into something mer. And here it was. Even though most of her mind was presently weighed down with grief and responsibility, a large part of it screamed and jumped in utter elation.

Dom took Kel's silence as refusal, so he gentlemanly began to let Kel off the hook. "I know you're busy, so I understand if"- he was cut off. Kel stepped up intimately close and cradled his face in her hands. Her expression gave her away and Dom smiled and tentatively brushed his hand through her short light brown hair. Hesitantly, Kel's lips reached for Dom's. They responded by pressing firmly to her mouth. Both Kel and Dom leaned back to look at the other person's expression, and both were relieved to see that they wore matching goofy grins. Dom leaned toward her face again, but Kel stopped him by putting her hand flat to his muscled chest.

A new kind of smile tugged at her lips. Her mind had constantly been chewing over the problem of how to re-retrieve the crown's documents ever since Bloomroi's ship pulled out to the horizon with the priceless cargo. Now an answer presented itself to her.

"Hold that thought," she told Dom. She walked back to the front of the deck and quickly sought out Georon.

"Do you have enough magic left to contact Numair Salmalin?" At Georon's nod her smile widened. "I have a plan, but I need the wildmage's assistance to pull it off."

_**Next chapter will have a lot of Daine! Some of my more astute readers can probably already guess exactly what two pivotal roles Daine will play.**_


	9. The shift

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any Tamora Pierce character.**_

/Don't be sad/ said the sweet little dapple mare Daine rode.

Daine patted the mare's neck, but did not say anything.

Daine and Numair rode side by side in silence as they headed toward the coast.

Each was distracted in their individual thoughts. Their friend's funeral had been put off for a couple of weeks until government and family affairs could be put in order. There was no need for haste; it was not as if there was even a body.

When Kel contacted Daine with her request, Daine leaped at the chance of such an awesome distraction. She did wish that there was less travel time though. So much extra time gave her mind too long of a period to lament. If only she could have flown… Daine frowned at her husband.

"You didn't have to come. I could already be there by now," she accused.

It took almost a full minute for Numair to pull out of his thoughts. Then it took an additional few seconds to process his wife's words. He turned and puckered his brow.

"You don't have much experience with aquatic mammalians yet. I want to be there in case something happens. To guide you."

"Who's the one with wild magic here?" Daine grumbled.

Silence ensued. Numair broke it.

"Besides, going by horseback gives Kitten a chance to escape our dear little human children. I bet she is tired of Rikash's cries and Sarralyn always pulling her tail. The little dragon, blue-gray in color, looked out from where she nestled in a saddle bag and trilled out her hearty agreement.

* * *

"Don't get lost," Numair repeated for the eleventh time.

"You've said that fifty times already."

"This is only the second time I've reminded you," disagreed Numair.

The couple stood at the edge of Pebble Cove, a stretch of secluded beach near Port Caynn. Gusty winds sprayed chilly water in the air. Daine deftly stripped off her shoes and dress so that she stood naked on the white sand. Only her silver claw adorned her goose bumped skin. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Let's get this over with." Not giving herself a chance to falter, Daine plunged into the gray, rolling waves.

"If you get too tired, or feel like there is too much risk. Don't hesitate to stop and come back. Your safety comes before anything else," Numair called as she waded further and further in. Daine stopped when the water reached mid thigh and focused on the changes. Her skin turned gray, her face bulged out, and her limbs fused to her body in seconds. She was a bottle-nosed dolphin.

All the tension and grief she had been harboring melted away as the dolphin fun mindset and easygoing temperament took over. Daine dove low and propelled herself up into the air as a goodbye salute to Numair. She hit the waves and darted forward. Being a dolphin was a rush, just all-around plain fun! She could spend the rest of her life in dolphin form if obligations didn't tie her to the land.

Daine headed in the direction Numair had pointed out to her. Along the way she confirmed that she was going the right direction by asking marine life she happened by.

After an hour she found a pod of six dolphins joyfully playing tag as they snacked on minnows.

/Ocean friends/ she called out to them. /Will you help my friends and I?/

All six of them readily agreed when she explained the plan.

/Sounds like fun!/ one exclaimed. /We love boats. We get to play in the waves they leave behind them./ The other five heartily agreed.

/There was one over there/ The biggest one informed Daine. /I saw it earlier today when the sun was in that direction./

/Will you take me to it?/ Seven dolphins found soon themselves at the hull of _Persistance. _Five human faces peered down from the bow.

"Is one of you Daine?" Kel called out.

Daine let out a dolphin laugh with her marine vocal chords.

"Do a back flip if that is a yes," called Dom. Obediently, Daine coiled her muscles and did a graceful backward flip.

"I love these creatures," Dom commented to Kel in sheer admiration.

Kel turned to the man hunched on the other side of her. "You stay and man the ship because you are hurt the worst." The soldier had taken multiple stab wounds and many broken bones due to the mage blast. Darrwan looked at her with pain in his eyes and nodded.

Dom lowered a rope ladder off the bow. First he, then Sir Andrew, then Georon, descended over the rail into the foaming waters below. Kel swung her legs over the edge when it was her turn and started climbing down hand over hand. Darrwan looked down at her as she descended.

"I was wrong about you," he gasped out. "I'm sorry."

Kel nodded briskly. She was too far to say anything.

When she landed in the Emerald Ocean, Kel gasped out loud with shock. The water was freezing! Having never been the strongest of swimmers, she also began to flail blindly in an effort to keep her head above the water. A smooth surface rose beneath her for support, and Kel gratefully grasped the dorsal fin for balance.

/These aren't water people/ Daine warned her dolphin friends /don't go underwater. Stay steady at water level./ The unusual group steadily made their way north. A silhouette in the distance solidified to reveal the Yamani ship they were tracking.

/Here it is, what do we find next?/ Said one of the dolphins.

/This is it, we don't need to find anything else/ Daine reassured her.

The group quietly sidled up to the edge of the ship. Handholds carved into the wood led up the side. One by one, Kel and the others propelled themselves up and adjusted the weapons they carried on them.

Kel prepared herself and looked around at the three others, she gave a silent "go" signal by slashing her arm down. The Yamanis lounging on deck were taken by completely by surprise by an attack from this angle. They had been looking to the horizon for an ambush, not at the water.

Daine leapt in the air. Mid jump she shape shifted from dolphin to osprey. Blubbery skin sprouted molten feathers and she shrunk to one fifth her original size. She caught a thermal updraft and let out a warrior's shriek. A very angry osprey dove and gouged at all the eyes of men about to attack her allies. In under five minutes the Tortallans gained control of the ship and held hostage eight put out Yamani prisoners. Had they been a less dignified breed of people they would have been furious.

"I consider this a good day's work," Dom commented cheerfully as he tightened the cords binding Bloomroi's wrists and shoved him forward to join small crowd of traitors. Dom resisted the urge to kick him. Little did he know that nearby Kel was fighting a similar urge.

Kel said, "Let's turn this ship around and meet up with Darrwan." She pause for dramatic effect. "Then we go home." A half hearted cheer could be heard from a few people.

Dom subtly put his hand out for a low five and Kel smacked it.

Watching everything with perfect vision and a good view, Daine sat perched in her bird form on the railing. She change her vocal muscles and mouth to allow for human speech. "I'm going to follow you guys from the water. I rather like being a dolphin!"

She took off in the air and flapped high up. Thirty yards above the water she changed forms for the third time that day and then did the single most impressive bottle-nose dolphin dive in all history. Daine danced and played with her new friends in the wake of the ship. During one rousing game of tag Daine dived lower than she ever had before in an effort to evade becoming 'it'. This is when she noticed the wreckage of a recently sunken ship, and the red and purple glow that pulsed around it.

Daine suddenly felt more elated than any dolphin natural exuberance could do for her.


	10. The end

**I'm sorry that this update took so long. Life happened; don't you hate life? ;) **

**This was too much of an undertaking for me. If I every write a Tamora Pierce fanfic again, it will be a oneshot. This was too many characters to keep track of and I didn't do**** justice to them. I feel like I just glossed over the surface of character angst. Despite my misgivings over this entire experiment, I have a small amount of satisfaction on how it turned out. Now at least I can say it's complete!**

George Cooper sat at the edge of King Jonathon's Royal swift. He peered anxiously into the multi-colored, boiling water. Beside him Numair Salmalin, another black robed mage, and kitten weaved together powerful magic.

He abruptly turned and walked to the other side of the ship.

"I can't watch. It's too stressfull."

Queen Thayet looked up at the former thief. "You too huh?" She sympathized.

George nodded and plopped down beside the peerless royal.

"You don't look too stressed," commented Thayet. She offered him a sweet biscuit. He took it from her, but he began to play with it instead of consuming it.

"Years of practicin' in the rogue made me an expert. No thief wants a sweatin' king."

Seeing the baron needed a distraction, Thayet began to gossip. "Now that the traitors are on Traitor's hill and our property is in its proper place, you'll never guess who has already started sharing bed quarters."

George raised his eyebrows. "Do you honestly think I'm that bad at my job?" he gave a half smile. "Don't answer that. If you do I don't want to know. I believe the answer is Lady Knight Keladry and Sir Domitan." He looked across the ship. "I can't wait to share the gossip with my lass."

Thayet beckoned Daine over. Daine appeared beside the two almost instantly. "Tell George of your little dolphin adventure earlier," Thayet requested.

Wanting to distract her friend as much as Thayet, Daine launched into a detailed account of her earlier adventure. George focused on the wild mage's account and tried to ignore the commotion across deck. A particularly loud shout caused George to whirl around. A herd of healers knelt beside a small red-headed figure.

George started, but Thayet put a hand on his elbow. "She'll be alright. Alanna is a fighter. She has proved that time and time again." George didn't take his eyes off of the still figure. "There's nothing you can do yet. Let the healers do their job."

George tore his eyes away. "You're right." He tried to focus on Daine. "Are Sarra and Rikash keeping their parents on their toes?"

"They're a handful. Rikash figured out how see magic last week with the help of his Da." Daine knew that George wasn't listening, but she chatted on anyway. "And you should see Sarra at night when she sleeps with all her animals. I don't have a nursery, I have a menagerie!"

A groan could be heard from the Lioness. George immediately went to her with a quiet 'excuse me'. He bypassed the group of healers leaning over Roderick. He only had eyes for his lass.

Someone saw him approach and moved aside to make room.

"She's still out of it, but coming around."

George scooped up Alanna's hand and watched her pale face. Another groan escaped blue tinged lips, and then long eyelashes fluttered open. Glazed purple orbs found his gaze.

"George?" Alanna moaned.

"Right here darlin'."

"Don't leave me."

"Never."

"There's a pole in me."

A healer nearby smoothed red, salty, wet hair. "Not anymore. We got it out."

"George?"

"Yes lass?"

"Do you think this would be a good excuse for me to finally retire from the king's champion's post?"

George didn't even know he had a chuckle in him. "I think that this is the perfect opportunity. You and me will be inseparable after this. Finally after all this time."

A ghost of a smile hinted on Alanna's exhausted face. "Finally," she echoed softly.

He brushed a gentle hand down the side of her face. "I'll always take care of you."

"Sounds nice."

George leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. Alanna weakly lifted a hand to push him away. "Don't you dare kiss me until I've had a chance to wash my mouth of sea slime George Cooper!"

"Okay," he agreed easily. "I have to warn you though; I'm going to kiss you a lot every day."

Watching the reunion from a short distance away sat Numair and Daine. The latter settled firmly in the former's grasp.

"That's going to be us someday," murmered Numair. "Still completely in love with each other even when the children are grown and we retire from our jobs."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," smiled Daine as she tilted her head for a kiss; one which her husband promptly provided for her.

**THE END**

**Thank you to everybody who took the time to review. Reviews make my heart glow.**


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